The car looks great!!!!! From looking at the result, it definitely worth the time and the work you put into it. i think you put in at least 16 hours.

With proper washing method (foam pre-wash and 2 bucket hand wash) , you should be able to maintain the look for a very long time.

Good job!!! Most importantly, I hope you had fun doing it.

Thanks,

I noticed that even some microfiber towels will scratch this finish. What wash media do you use on yours, I currently use sheepskin mitt or microfiber dreadlock mitt. Will use the blower and blotting with waffle weave microfiber for drying. I have way too much time in on this correction as I was going through a learning curve for all products used since this is the first car I have ever corrected outside of waxing.

Unfortunately, the paint on our cars (Jet black) is so soft that it will scratch if we sneeze on it too hard.

I try to minimize the contact between wash media and the car while it is dirty. I foam the car and let it dwell for a few minutes first. This helps loosen up the dirt. Rinse the car off and follow up with the 2 buckets hand wash. I use 2 premium CHENILLE MICROFIBER CAR WASH MITTS (one for the top 2/3 of the car and another for the bottom third). I do dry with a mini-blower. A full-blown leaf blower is just too cumbersome to use. A final wipe down with a spray detailer using my softest microfiber towels. This seems to eliminate most of the defects one can put on during the washing stage.

On a car that I recently did, I didn't even do a 2 buckets hand wash after foaming because I was worried about adding defects ( being OCD ). I washed the car with a foam gun (Wash mitt in one hand while a foam gun on the other). I shot the foam into the mitt while wiping (toward the direction of the foam). Rinsed out the mitt before moving on to the next pass. I made sure all washing medias that touch the surface were well lubricated. Years ago, I saw this done by a Pro who worked exclusively on exotic cars so I added it to my bags of tricks.

Being OCD in this process really helps in keeping the car looking good. You worked too hard for it to be ruined by one bad wash.

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What is absolute control???? Having the means and the abilities to exercise it at will but....chooses not to.

Which QD do you use? Which microfiber towels do you find to be the most gentle? I have PBW spray and wipe but was thinking maybe optimum or dodo juise QD what is your opinion? Will microfiber mitt be more gentle than wool mitt? I also use a foam gun. I just got this car a while back so all this damage was done prior to my ownership.

Awesome, thanks. I just did 14 hours on my Sapphire Black a month ago (really bad CPO car that went to weekly auto car washes) but didn't get desired results. Your fantastic results have me itching to give it another go.

What carnuba wax do you like? And you put the carnuba *after* the sealant and not before?

Awesome, thanks. I just did 14 hours on my Sapphire Black a month ago (really bad CPO car that went to weekly auto car washes) but didn't get desired results. Your fantastic results have me itching to give it another go.

What carnuba wax do you like? And you put the carnuba *after* the sealant and not before?

I like the BFMS carnuba and yes do the sealant first let it cure 12 hours betwenn coats put on 2 coats of sealant and then wait 12 hours and top with BFMS.

Which QD do you use? Which microfiber towels do you find to be the most gentle? I have PBW spray and wipe but was thinking maybe optimum or dodo juise QD what is your opinion? Will microfiber mitt be more gentle than wool mitt? I also use a foam gun. I just got this car a while back so all this damage was done prior to my ownership.

I did post the pics. I didn't take any pic during the wash because beside being OCD.... I also have (at times) CRS (Can't Remember Shit).

Look for towels that are at the minimum 70/30 microfiber. I prefer towels that are dual sided (short nap on one side - for buffing, long nap on the other- for cleaning). I own several sizes of towels. I use an extra-large (51"x31") towel for drying. This size covers a large area and it allows me to fold up the end so that I could run my hands over the towel to dry the car without moving the towel itself. There is another use for this big towel during the polishing stage. The towel generally is not too wet since I use a blower so I would use the same towel to cover a completed section of the car while I am polishing another to minimize dust from getting back on.

I really don't have an opinion of QD. They all seem to work about the same for my purpose. I use QD for the final wipe because I want to reduce the friction cause by a dry towel on a dry surface.

Wool mitt seems to be able to hold more soap and it should work just as well.

Everyone might have their own ways of doing this but our goal is the same.

Enjoy your car... Do some driving.... Deep down, people (myself included) who are into this sort of things wants to be seen DRIVING in their clean cars. IMO

__________________

What is absolute control???? Having the means and the abilities to exercise it at will but....chooses not to.

So I drove the car to work yesterday and of course it decided to rain and a bird decided to drop a bomb on the roof as well. I now have water spots and a bird etching. The bird etching will not come off the paint. I know I can polish it out but is there any other methods I can try prior to polishing it out since I just applied two coats of sealant and a coat of wax. I really am surprised the bird bomb etched considering all the coats of protection applied.

So I drove the car to work yesterday and of course it decided to rain and a bird decided to drop a bomb on the roof as well. I now have water spots and a bird etching. The bird etching will not come off the paint. I know I can polish it out but is there any other methods I can try prior to polishing it out since I just applied two coats of sealant and a coat of wax. I really am surprised the bird bomb etched considering all the coats of protection applied.

Tell me about it.... I live 2 blocks from the beach and bird dropping is a common occurrence for me.

Bird dropping could be extremely acidic. With the right conditions (warm day, dark color paint), it can etched the paint in minutes. In some extreme cases, it could eat through the clear coat. I worked on a black Acura TL once which the owner neglected to clean the dropping immediately and let it bake for over 2 weeks outdoor in 100 degrees weather. It went through the paint and there was nothing I could do. I even tried wet sanding it.

As far as the water spot, try using a solution of 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 distilled white vinegar. Make sure you do this in the shade while the surface is cool. Spray or spot-spray the paint with this water/vinegar solution and wipe it off with the soft, clean cloth. The spots should come right off. Unfortunately, your waxed surface may be dulled by this solution so you might have to re-apply the wax. Do a test spot to see if this works for you. This is the least aggressive approach to take prior to anymore buffing.

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What is absolute control???? Having the means and the abilities to exercise it at will but....chooses not to.

Tell me about it.... I live 2 blocks from the beach and bird dropping is a common occurrence for me.

Bird dropping could be extremely acidic. With the right conditions (warm day, dark color paint), it can etched the paint in minutes. In some extreme cases, it could eat through the clear coat. I worked on a black Acura TL once which the owner neglected to clean the dropping immediately and let it bake for over 2 weeks outdoor in 100 degrees weather. It went through the paint and there was nothing I could do. I even tried wet sanding it.

As far as the water spot, try using a solution of 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 distilled white vinegar. Make sure you do this in the shade while the surface is cool. Spray or spot-spray the paint with this water/vinegar solution and wipe it off with the soft, clean cloth. The spots should come right off. Unfortunately, your waxed surface may be dulled by this solution so you might have to re-apply the wax. Do a test spot to see if this works for you. This is the least aggressive approach to take prior to anymore buffing.

I tried the vinegar solution and it did not work. It rained and then it was baked on by the sun all day. I suppose it will have to be polished out. I am going to try the 85rd first then m205 if that doesn't work. I polished out the bird etching with m205 then followed with 85rd and then applied the BFWD sealant. I just feel like it is a losing battle with the paint. If a bird poops on it it has to be polished out and if it gets rained on it has to be polished. How much polishing can the clearcoat take before it is down to the base coat?

I tried the vinegar solution and it did not work. It rained and then it was baked on by the sun all day. I suppose it will have to be polished out. I am going to try the 85rd first then m205 if that doesn't work. I polished out the bird etching with m205 then followed with 85rd and then applied the BFWD sealant. I just feel like it is a losing battle with the paint. If a bird poops on it it has to be polished out and if it gets rained on it has to be polished. How much polishing can the clearcoat take before it is down to the base coat?

Welcome to the wonderful world of black cars..... Someone told me that maintaining a black car is a full time job. Don't get too obsess over it or you will lose the joy of ownership. I know it is frustrating since you just spend 16+ hours getting all the defects out. No one can say that the job you did is not stellar. Feel good about what you had accomplished.

Just try your best to get the bird crap off as soon as you see it. I have a bottle of waterless wash in my car at all times for situations such as this. My daughter thinks I am crazy. She gets embarrass by my OCD. I learned to live with it.

Water spots is another beast. Rain is not the problem. Having it dry in the hot sun on a black car is the problem. I don't have that problem where I live since the San Francisco summer is extremely mild. If it gets to the high 70s several days in a row then it is consider to be a heat wave here. I feel for you.

There is a finite amount of times you can polish your car but then you are not doing heavy correcting every single times. If you are really concern then you should try to have your paint measure. I believe most cars start off with about 140-160 microns. You have to be careful once you are approaching the low 100s. From the way it looked, the previous owner probably never had any type of corrections done (just my guess). I think you still have plenty of paint on your car.

Take a long drive after work tomorrow then you will remember why you bought the car in the first place. Have fun.

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What is absolute control???? Having the means and the abilities to exercise it at will but....chooses not to.